Improvement in weft-thread-knitting machines



C. L. SPENCER & S. W. PINGREE.

WEFT-THREAD KNITTING-MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 19, 1876.

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THE GRAPHIC CQN-Y UNITED STATES PATENT FFIGE.

cHARLEs L. SPENCER, or PROVIDENCE, 'RHoDE ISLAND, AND sAMUEL W.

PINGREE, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN WEFT-THREAD-KNITTING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,411, dated December19, 1876; application filed June 7, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, GnARLEs L. SPENoER,

of Providence, in the county of Providence and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents afront elevation of our loom. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of theneedle-jacks, and showing two barbed needles. Fig. 3 is a sectionalelevation of a portion of the revolving cylinder which carries theneedles, and of its casing, a jack being shown in position between them,in which is inserted a latch-needle, a second needle being shown for thepurpose of illustrating the position of the needles with reference toeach other when in use. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7,8 and 9 are detailed parts ofour device.

The object of this invention is to provide, in a barb or latch needleknitting-machine, a simple and positive means whereby a weftthread maybe interwoven into the fabric with the loops or stitches without dangerof injury to the reciprocating needles, or the straining or breaking ofthe yarn or thread, or dropping of stitches, and to equalize the takingup of goods as fast as formed, by maintaining a uni: form tension at alltimes between the reciprocating needles and the rollers of the take-up,as hereinafter described.

Our invention relates to that class of knitting-machines whereby a weftor filling thread is inserted or woven into the stitches of the goodsfor the purpose of producing a fabric that may be finished equal tocloths woven upon looms of the usual construction. To

do this it is necessary that the weft or filling threads be inserted insuch a manner as to be positive in passing under the latches of theneedles, and between them, in order that the desired style of goods maybe produced.

Our invention consists in so arranging the needles in the jacks, byinclining such needles to any required angle therewith, that the upperends of said needles may stand in a zigzag line when projected above thecylinder which carries them, without the employment of wheels or anyother extraneous mechanical device for preserving their alignment, aportion of said needles being set or inclined outwardly, and anotherportion being set or inclined inwardly, thus forming a continuouschannel or space for the insertion of the weft or filling when theneedles are elevated for the purpose; and it further consists in theconstruction of a mechanical take-up for the cloth, as hereinafterdescribed, it being automatic in its operation, and operating withreference to the movement of the needles in the manufacture of all kindsof goods.

Y In the accompanying drawing, A represents the revolving cylinder forcarrying the reciprocating needles and their jacks. The casing of thecylinder is shown at B B, it having one or more cam-shaped groovesformed in it for operating one or more sets of needles and their jacks,and being provided with a suitable number of braces or supports, 0 O,secured externally, for the purpose of holding the casing in positionand securing the sections B B at a suitable distance from each other tocause them to form a double helical cam for the projections formed uponthe needle-jacks to move in, and thus give the required motion to theneedles.

Externally on the upper end of the casing B a standard, D, is arranged,and secured thereto, having a cross bar, 61, extending through its upperhead, as shown in Fig. 6, it being made adjustable and held in positionby a set-screw, To this cross-bar are fitted the adjustable clamp-blocksE E, for holding the,

latch-guard f and the thread-guides g and g in their proper positions.E, Fig. 1, represents the top plate of the frame of the machine in whichthe cylinder A is made to revolve, said cylinder being provided at itslower end with a gear-wheel, H, having at the center an annular openingto admit of its being connected with the cylinder. By means of thiswheel motion is imparted to the other moving parts of the machine, itreceiving its motion from a small beveled pinion turned by-a crank or bymeans of a pulley, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the wheel H alsoserving to hold the cylinder in position.

Brackets K K are secured to the top of plate F of the frame, and areprovided with vertical slots. The lower projecting ends of the supports0 0 of the case are fitted therein, so as to be raised or lowered with ascrew passing through their centers.

By this arrangement the reciprocating needles may be adjusted to formthe proper length of stitch required indifl'erent numbers or run ofyarn.

In order that the path or passage heretofore alluded to may be formedbetween the upper ends of the reciprocating needles for the receptionand passage of the weft or filling thread, as it passes from the guide9', the slots in the upper ends of the jacks are cut at an angle totheir axis, so that the up per ends of the needles, when elevated, maystand divided or in different concentric lines, as represented in Figs.2 and 3 of the drawlugs.

' This method of constructing the jacks enables the constructor to useneedles which are straight in their general outline, and consequentlyare more easily and accurately formed, and when made and secured in thejacks are far less liable to be broken, because the change in positionof their upper ends when in use is produced by a springing of the entirelength of the needle, and not by a bending at a particular point, as isthe case in needles that are bent at or near the jacks for the purposeof giving them the requisite angle when elevated.

It will, however, become necessary in forming different patterns ofgoods to set or incline two or more adjacent needles outwardly, and twoor more inwardly, alternately. The weft-thread is inserted between theadvancing needles at or near the point where they begin to rise, asrepresented in Fig. 1, the cam-groove being so formed that the top endsof the advancing needles, before they begin to rise, range on a line, ornearly so, with the lower ends of the hanging latches of the same whenelevated to the highest point, and thus the desired result, a positiveinsertion of the weftthread below the latches, is attained without theuse of any of the mechanical devices heretofore employed for thatpurpose.

This last-described feature of our improvement constitutes an importantfeature of our invention, as it removes all danger of injury to theneedles, enables us to produce a more perfect character of goods, andenables the machine to be run at a higher rate of speed, and so producea greater amount of cloth in a (given period of time than couldotherwise be one.

To insure the proper operation of the latches of the inwardly-incliningneedles, and the insertion between them and said needles of the warp orlooping thread--which thread is inserted in advance of the weft-theneedles are brought forward as they descend by the inclined surface oftheupper end of the groove ---ii i- -the -cylinder, as shown at 2 inFig. 3. The

outward movement of the needle at this point has the effect to press itagainst the weft or filling thread. The lower ends of the latches comein contact therewith, and they are thus carried up and made to clasp thewarp or knitting thread between themselves and their needles just beforethe stitch is formed, the outwardly-inclined needles being drawn into aline with the others by the tension of the cloth put upon it by thetake-up, soon to be described. The guard f is situated in front of theneedles between the two thread-guides, to prevent the latches fromflying out of place when the needles are rising or descending, andbefore they pass beyond the warp or looping thread.

For the purpose of equalizing the taking up of the cloth as formed, weemploy two fluted rollers, arranged in a frame, represented at J, Fig.1, the upper ends of the vertical parts and they are made adjustable intheir approximation toward each other by two setscrews, which pressagainst elliptic springs a and a, arranged in contact with the boxes ofone of the rollers, for the purpose of giving a yieldingpressurethereto, and making it equal at each of their ends, so that thecloth may pass between them as fast as formed.

For operating the rollers above alluded to, a worm wheel, I, is placedupon one end of them, to which a worm, M, placed uponthe upper end of avertical shaft, N, gives motion. Upon the upper end of worm M aratchet-surface is formed, the worm being fitted loosely upon its shaftso as to turn thereon, said shaft extending from the top to a shortdistance below one side of frame J, it being attached thereto so as torevolve in suitable bearings, its lower end being provided with a smallgear-wheel, which meshes into a stationary wheel, P, situated at thebase of the machine. Theframe J is opereted by the gear-wheel H, and inconnection with the cylinder A, it turning upon a stud at the center ofits base, and above the wheel P, which is stationary, the consequence ofwhich is that a rotary motion is imparted to the shaft N, to the upperend of which a collar, R, is secured, having ratchet-teeth formed uponits lower surface, and made to fit those on the worm M. By thisarrangement the two ratchet-surfaces may be held in gear by a spiralspring, I), on the shaft N, said spring being made to act with therequired pressure against the lower surface of the worm M. In order thatthe required pressure for regulating the action of the take-up rollersmay be brought to bear upon the worm, a hollow screw, h, with a nut, h,placed thereon, is provided, and a cap, k, is made to slide over the endof the screw, the details being shown at Fig. 9, and the parts inposition in Fig. 4, of the drawings, where the parts are shown as beingheld in position by a set-screw fitted through the side of the hollowscrew h. The fluted rollers of the take-up are positive in their actionwhen the spiral spring is properly adjusted, and are self regulating inthe taking up of the cloth as fast as formed, and

at the same time they exert an even strain on the selvage edge thereof,or on the stitches as they are being formed. To avoid any slack in thecloth between the needles and the rollers, it is necessary to have saidrollers revolve with a greater speed than is absolutely necessary totake up the same, and to permit this to be done without injuring thegoods or the needles of the machine, the clutch upon the worm and thecollar R are provided, and so arranged that when in gear a positiveaction is given to the rollers, which, in consequence of the fact thattheir surfaces move faster than the cloth can be formed, causesastrainto beputupon thecloth,and thus draws one portion of the needles intoposition while the stitch is being taken, as previously described, andat the same time, owing to the action of the goods upon the rollers, theworm M, operated upon by the worm-wheel I, when too much strain isexerted upon the cloth, compresses the spring b, carrying the teeth ofthe worm-wheel away from those on the ring or collar, R, thusdisconnecting the clutch, and allowing the shaft N to revolve freelywhile the worm remains stationary; but as soon as the knitting hasproceeded to such an extent as to relieve the strain upon the goods, theworm is relieved from its downward pressure, and the spring returns itto its original position, where it again clutches with the collar orring, and the positive connection is restored, and thus aself-regulating and suitable strain or tension is put upon the goodsthroughout the whole operation.

For receiving the goods from the fluted rollers, a cloth beam or rollermay be arranged in the center of the frame, and motion may be impartedto it by any suitable mechanism;

. or the goods may be led to any other position,

and then wound upon a beam, or folded, as as desired.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for knitting cloth, in which a filling-thread isinserted or woven into the stitches, that portion of the jacks whichcarry the needles constructed with an inwardly-inclined slot or surfacefor the needles to rest in or against, and the alternate ones with anoutwardly inclined slot or surface for the needles, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the take-up rollers with the shaft N, ratchet R,worm M, spring b, and regulating mechanism h, h, and k, the parts beingconstructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination of the gear wheel H, revolving frame J, fixed wheelP, and shaft N, with its automatically operating wormwheel M, the partsbeing arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own invention we affixour signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES L. SPENCER. SAMUEL WHITE PINGREE. Witnesses:

T. W. ROLLINS, TRUE W. ROLLINS, Jr.

